(t5!) Movies Of The 2000s (Redux) [50 to 1]

Back in the house, once again!

Here’s a look at the first time I did this list. I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say that I’m ashamed of that ranking. You’re going to find out after this is all unveiled that I still love the majority of those movies. But I can comfortably say that when I compiled that list, I had’t watched enough movies to properly assemble a “best movies” list. Now that four-and-a-half years have passed — and, thanks to Netflix, torrents, and a wife that loves to watch movies more than I do — I’ve watched 644 films of the 2000s according to my Letterboxd, and that’s miles more than the number of movies I’ve watched right after the decade ended. Sure, that volume doesn’t put my appraisal effectiveness on the same level as Jay Sherman, but there is no question that my personal tastes have expanded, my knowledge has deepened, and my perception of the movies from that decade has changed. I’m also certain that the discrepancies between the two rankings can be explained by the fact that taste is forever evolving. Ask me again five years from now what my 57th favorite movie of the 2000s is and I’m sure my answer will be different from what I’m about to give to you during these next few days.

100 movies in this list, 2004 and 2008 are tied for the most entries with 13 each, and 2005 has the least entries with 6. It’s difficult to pinpoint what each movie’s definite genre is, but approximately, there are 36 dramatic movies, 29 action movies, 27 comedies, and eight horror thrillers. I have eight animated movies and four documentaries in here. 22 of these movies are foreign, with Great Britain having the most representatives with six. According to this list, Quentin Tarantino is my favorite 2000s director due to the fact that he has four movies in here. Three of these movies have won the Academy Award for Best Picture and eight of them have been nominated but didn’t win. There are three performances in here that won Best Actor, three that won Best Supporting Actor, and four that won Best Director.

Addendum: It seems inessential, but I have to mention that these lists are incredibly subjective. These are my favorite movies. These lists aren’t a one-way street, and I would love for you to comment on movies that made the list and movies that didn’t. Also, drop by and disclose your own Top 10, Top 20, or Top 100, either in the Comments section, on Let’s Touch Fives! Facebook page, on my Twitter, wherever I can be reached. I also highly encourage that you join Letterboxd, a must for both cinephiles and casual movie-goers. It’s a terrific social network for cataloguing the movies you’ve watched, discovering movies you haven’t watched, and assembling lists. You can look me up there, you can post your own list, we can contrast and compare, and be friends forever.

“With a delirious mix of the sublime and the silly, Hong Kong comedy king Stephen Chow Sing-chi has taken the kung fu comedy genre to new heights of chop-socky hilarity.” — Andrew Sun, The Hollywood Reporter

“So disarmingly eager to please that only a stone-faced kung fu purist could object.” — David Ansen, Newsweek

“Somebody figure out a way to build an entire franchise around The Landlady. Tell me you wouldn’t watch.” — Scott Renshaw, Letterboxd

“City of God delivers a bruising, visceral experience of the vicious spiral of violence that draws kids into a life of crime, brutality and murder as the only avenue open to them.” — David Rooney, Variety

“The film is seductive, disturbing, enthralling — a trip to hell that gives the passengers a great ride. — Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

“There were genuinely times I wasn’t sure the children were actors, but rather the director just found kids in gangs and bribed them to be filmed for a few days.” — gingerjew, Letterboxd

“The less you know about this movie before seeing it — and you really should see it — the better.” — Christy Lemire, Associated Press

“A masterpiece of indirection and pure visceral thrills, David Cronenberg’s latest mindblower, A History of Violence, is the feel-good, feel-bad movie of the year.” — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“At its heart, Nobody Knows is a sweet salute to the tenacity and courage of children who are blithely mistreated by adults who should know better and probably do.” — Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

“Profoundly sad, but it’s made with such artistry that it’s almost uplifting; you watch it mesmerized, immersed in the strange community the children create.” — Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

“Damn you, Hirokazu Koreeda, for making this film. Now I won’t be able to get these absolutely heartbreaking scenes out of my mind.” — Jacob Olsen, Letterboxd

#043: Spirted Away2001Directed by Hayao MiyazakiStarring Rumi Hiiragi

THE TUNNEL LED CHIHIRO TO A MYSTERIOUS TOWN…

In the middle of her family’s move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and monsters; where humans are changed into animals; and a bathhouse for these creatures

“The result is nothing less than magical, a throwback to the very best of early Disney. If I can’t remember the last time I was this enchanted by an animated film, it’s because I was too young.” — Jack Mathews, New York Daily News

“Stretches the boundaries of offensiveness in ways that both make us laugh and make us think.” — Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

“Harold and Kumar share a quality the overgrown adolescents in films like this are never allowed to possess: They’re witty, focused, and highly aware. They make having a brain look hip.” — Owen Glieberman, Entertainment Weekly

“My favorite thing about this movie is how every single villain is a white guy.” — Joe, Letterboxd

Three buddies wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas, with no memory of the previous night and the bachelor missing. They make their way around the city in order to find their friend before his wedding.

“You might be embarrassed by laughing at some of the silliness, but don’t be: Everyone else will be cracking up, too.” — Sara Vilkomerson, New York Observer

“This is a movie where you WANT to stick around for the credits. The beauty is that you are totally set up for it, and you don’t mind one bit. That final sequence ties the movie together in an awesome fashion.” — Rob Calvert, Premiere

“Before Daniel Craig turned up as Bond — Jason Bourne was what I always wished Bond would be more like. This is a super stylish spy thriller that must be seen. It’s full of ultra realistic performances, amazing locations and twists and turns. We follow Jason Bourne as he pieces together his forgotten past. Excellent.” — Paul Robinson, Letterboxd

“A complex crime drama that limits its action, opting to save it for the times that bring the greatest impact.” — Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views

“Its most impressive accomplishment is to gather a bewildering labyrinth of facts and suspicions over a period of years, and make the journey through this maze frightening and suspenseful.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

“Zodiac is a film that technically nothing happens, is only talk, talk, talk, but in the hands of David Fincher, all this talking turn into one of the most engaging film I have ever seen.” — Javier, Letterboxd

#036: The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers2002Directed by Peter JacksonStarring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom

THE BATTLE FOR MIDDLE-EARTH BEGINS!

While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron’s new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.

“Part two is more a straight-ahead action flick, substituting brawn and brawling for the pastoral radiance of the first film.” — David Germain, Associated Press

“What makes Towers so staggering is the way it brings the full scope of Jackson’s adaptation into focus. Without missing a beat in three hours, the film shifts from epic to lyrical and back.” — Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club

“The Two Towers is that rare creature: an action film with soul.” — Audrey, Letterboxd

“The H2O theme fits in with the main feature, its tale of a clownfish searching for his son constituting Pixar’s most effective amalgam of comedy, artistry and emotional pull.” — Neil Sith, Total Film

“Finding Nemo is laced with smart humor and clever gags, and buoyed by another cheery story of mismatched buddies: a pair of fish voiced by Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres.” — David German, Associated Press

”So this basically was remade into Taken, right?” — DirkH, Letterboxd

#032: There Will Be Blood2007Directed by Paul Thomas AndersonStarring Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano

THERE WILL BE GREED. THERE WILL BE VENGEANCE.

A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.

“There Will Be Blood establishes itself as a film of Darwinian ferocity, a stark and pitiless parable of American capitalism.” — Christopher Orr, The New Republic

“Daniel Day-Lewis’s portrayal is not just the performance of the year — there will be injustice if he doesn’t win an Oscar — but a creation of awesome proportions.” — Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

“When filmmakers or storytellers want to comment on the nature of evil, they often forget that for someone to be evil he first has to be human.” — DirkH, Letterboxd

#031: Let The Right One In2008Directed by Tomas AlfredsonStarring Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson

ELI IS 12 YEARS OLD. SHE’S BEEN 12 FOR OVER 200 YEARS AND, SHE JUST MOVED IN NEXT DOOR.

Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.

“The biggest mistake you can make when watching this film is approaching it as a horror film. It isn’t. What it is, is an almost existentialist coming of age drama that explores the limits of friendship, family and love. And what I love about it is that its conclusion is that there are no limits.” — DirkH, Letterboxd

“A blissfully sweet coming-of-age movie in which everyone, young and less young, comes of age.” — Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

“Oh, what a lovely film. I was almost hugging myself while I watched it.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

“No words do a better job describing this film than the lyrics of Tiny Dancer. If I had to describe, it’s beautifully acted and mesmerizing with one of the best soundtracks a film ever had.” — Silent J, Letterboxd

“Training Day isn’t just one of the finest cops-and-robbers thrillers of recent years, full of devious twists and gut-grinding tension, but it also steers clear of convenient moral formulas.” — Andrew O’Hehir, Salon.com“As long as Training Day stays tightly focused on the struggle between the two cops, the movie is first rate.” — Richard Schickel, Time

“Is it possible to marry acting performances? If so, I have an awkward question for Denzel Washington’s…” — Chris Wilson, Letterboxd

“For those who enjoy this brand of wholly mindless entertainment, Crank delivers.” — James Berardinelli, ReelViews

“A Saw for the action crowd, this is an intense, stripped-down ride that goes places you’d never expect. Edgy and outrageous, it should get the fearless Statham some deserved attention.” — Nick De Semlyen, Empire

“You need the end credits of this film. It doesn’t matter if it’s in Korean, you just need it for the background; a lovely, quiet mountain range. It’s a relaxing image, just the antidote for what you’ve just witnessed. Because Oldboy is DEVASTATING…” — Driver, Letterboxd

COPS OR CRIMINALS. WHEN YOU’RE FACING A LOADED GUN WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

An undercover state cop who has infiltrated an Irish gang and a mole in the police force working for the same mob race to track down and identify each other before being exposed to the enemy, after both sides realize their outfit has a rat.

A psychologically troubled novelty supplier is nudged towards a romance with an English woman, all the while being extorted by a phone-sex line run by a crooked mattress salesman, and purchasing stunning amounts of pudding.

“Superbad is a movie about partying and getting wasted and getting the girl, but as the night wears on, much wisdom is gained too, about self, friendship and the end of teenage innocence in all its wondrous, terrifying splendor.” — Scott Foundas, Village Voice

“For pure laughs, for the experience of just sitting in a chair and breaking up every minute or so, Superbad is 2007’s most successful comedy.” — Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

“While the crunchy fights and unflagging pace ensure this delivers as genre spectacle, the muddy ethics also make for a pleasing contrast with standard-issue wham-bammery.” — Ben Walters, Time Out

“Bursting with so much amped-up energy, you may need to rest once it’s finally done.” — Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

“Possibly the greatest spy thriller ever. Truly thrilling in every moment, powered by Greengrass’ superb kinetic directing and editing. This film ever ceases to entertain and excite. The best of the Bourne franchise.” — Xarnis, Letterboxd

“It’s a scrumptious and dizzy-spirited lark, a what-the-hell-let’s-rob-the-casino flick made with so much wit and brains and dazzle and virtuosity that the sheer speed and cleverness of the caper hits you like a shot of pure oxygen.” — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

“Each character, as ever, is tucked into a shell of his or her obsessions, and yet the filming itself — the grace of Anderson’s draftsmanship, as it were — binds the figures together into a team.” — Anthony Lane, New Yorker

“Not only are Wes Anderson’s style and influences at their most endearing apex in The Royal Tenenbaums, but they just so happen to coalesce with great, noteworthy performances from all of the actors involved.” — Rakestraw, Letterboxd

” The result is an intense, action-driven war pic, a muscular, efficient standout that simultaneously conveys the feeling of combat from within as well as what it looks like on the ground.” — Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly“Bigelow’s film combines an expert management of tension with a sensitive and journalistic attention to detail: she has one eye on the truth and the other on the multiplex.” — Dave Calhoun, Time Out

“For one thing, I learned never to take my headset off or Anthony Mackie will punch the fuck out of me.” — Silent J, Letterboxd

“Lost in Translation revels in contradictions. It’s a comedy about melancholy, a romance without consummation, a travelogue that rarely hits the road.” — Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

“It’s a bento box of shifts, feints, hints and small, sharp insights, built around a surprisingly deep core of feeling. And it confirms Coppola as an artist to watch and relish.” — Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian

“Smart, funny, well-acted and visually lively.” — Ann Hornaday, Washington Post“Lindsay Lohan is more likely to die before 30 than to land another lead role as suited to her (likely squandered) talent. Tina Fey’s script is an observant equal-opportunity offender about how high school remains a jungle of hormones and haughtiness.” — Nick Rogers, suite101.com

“Nine years ago, I don’t think anybody would have predicted that, of the three leads, Seyfried would become the ‘It girl,’ McAdams would become the ‘actor,’ and Lohan would become, well, Lohan.” — Travis Lytle, Letterboxd

“Quentin Tarantino revels in the art and craft of cinema; so much so he has managed to mine all his favourite genres and make the style the substance.” — Urban Cinefile Critics

“The film succeeds by expertly melding the two stages of Tarantino’s career. The rambling Tarantino of ‘Jackie Brown’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’ is evident in every lovingly crafted and delivered monologue, each leisurely paced scene and long take. The more action-oriented, fight-intensive Tarantino reappears in the viscerally exciting bursts of ultra-violence that punctuate the stretches of dialogue.” — Nathan Rabin, The A.V. Club

“It’s a slow paced, character and dialogue driven journey, one that comes to an emotional and staggeringly beautiful climax.” — Silent Dawn, Letterboxd

“A big, bold, audacious war movie that will annoy some, startle others and demonstrate once again that he’s (Tarantino) the real thing, a director of quixotic delights.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

“I’m tempted to say Tarantino has done it again, but I doubt anyone has ever done anything like his dazzlingly original World War II movie, Inglourious Basterds.” — Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribute

“Tarantino crafts a great tale of revenge, doused in love of cinema and covered with a lovely hint of nostalgia.” — DirkH, Letterboxd

“It’s truly dirty and truly romantic at the same time, a combination that’s very hard to pull off.” — David Denby, New Yorker

“Surprisingly insightful, as buddy comedies go, and it has a good heart and a lovable hero.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

“Steve Carrell is comedy genius here on all points. He is so perfectly awkward and anxious and it makes for one of the best comedic performances of the last decade hands down.” — Josh Browning, Letterboxd

A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

“For those who don’t mind a little laughter with their zombies (or perhaps it should be the other way around), this is an unusual source of entertainment.” — James Berardinelli, ReelViews“The pasty, scruffy Pegg shows a surprising amount of range for the unlikely hero of a zombie flick.” — Christy Lemire, Associated Press

“Yeah if your only options are Sign O’ The Times, Purple Rain and Batman you’re definitely going to use Batman as a weapon, but surely you’ve got worse albums than Batman to toss at zombies.” — Willow Catelyn, Letterboxd

“Full force Will Ferrell at his best. And as an added bonus, we all get one of the funniest movies of the year…that is if you don’t mind your humor on the rude and crude side.” — Eric Campos, Film Threat

“Takes a joke and runs with it — sometimes too far, but usually long enough to wear you down and force you to submit to its craziness.” — Anna Smith, Time Out

“Many of its quotes are ingrained in popular culture and the mere mention of the film’s name causes most human beings to spew forth with quotes.” — Tom Beasley, Letterboxd

“Kill Bill: Volume 1 shows Quentin Tarantino so effortlessly and brilliantly in command of his technique that he reminds me of a virtuoso violinist racing through ‘Flight of the Bumble Bee’ — or maybe an accordion prodigy setting a speed record for ‘Lady of Spain.’” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

“I would argue that, in a bizarre way, Mr. Tarantino empowers women as no action-genre director before him ever has.” — Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

“Quentin Tarantino is a true film fan; not cynical, not pretentious, just a fan who loves genre films, loves giving his audience a new way of seeing them and loves to have fun with each and every thing he does to make old things new again. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is just this: the fun, swashbuckling, energetic and completely and utterly awesome work of a fan who will do his best to make us fans by the end; and at this he more than succeeds.” — Gustav, Letterboxd

“You feel as if you’re accompanying a war photographer who’s lost a bet. Slogging unflinchingly through humanity’s worst hours, the movie laces the narrative’s forays into science-fiction grandstanding with a gut-wrenching dynamic.” — Joshua Rothkopf, Time-Out“The performances are crucial, because all of these characters have so completely internalized their world that they make it palpable, and themselves utterly convincing.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

“And it’s a seriously impressive film. Staggeringly impressive. Carrying extreme emotional heft with its visceral action scenes, it’s a dystopia for the ages. But before anything else, a dystopia must set up its world convincingly in order to keep its grip on us and make us immersed in its setting. This is where Cuarón excels. He takes the UK and doesn’t move it too far forward.” — Driver, Letterboxd

“Among its many wondrous achievements, the animated WALL-E is a sci-fi trifecta: a vision of the future, a tale for our times and a blast from the past.” — Joe Williams, St. Louis Dispatch

“Mixing Chaplinesque delicacy with the architectural grandeur of a Stanley Kubrick film, director Andrew Stanton recycles film history and makes something fresh and accessible from it without pandering to a young audience.” — Liam Lacey, The Globe And Mail (Toronto)

“I am convinced that this film can turn: cynics into kittens, lawyers into human beings, depression into tap-dance, me into a man-shaped grin” — DirkH, Letterboxd

“Bird has created the unprecedented film that is not just a grand feature-length cartoon but a grand feature, period, a piece of animation that’s involving across a spectrum of comedy, action, even drama.” — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

“The best superhero movie made. Also, the Fantastic Four movie we never got.” — Mason_Daniel, Letterboxd

“A masterly tale of the good, the deranged and the doomed that inflects the raw violence of the west with a wry acknowledgement of the demise of codes of honour, this is frighteningly intelligent and imaginative.” — Geoff Andrew, Time Out

“The ultimate vision here is of a hard world in which civilization is the aberration, and the things we fear are always waiting for an excuse to make life normal again.” — Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club

“I see Chigurh not as a sadistic and psychopathic, but strangely principled, hit man for hire, but rather I see him as life. I see him as fate, I see him as an unsympathetic God. Not an all powerful God, just a God that has power over us and travels with us. The instances of the coin toss being fate. Good people who suffer disease or accident. Like the toss of a coin. What did the hapless gas station attendant do? Marry into run down gas station? He ran into fate” — Jonathan White, Letterboxd

“When was the last time you saw a blockbuster that was impeccably executed and simultaneously thought-provoking, audacious and unnerving while consistently being fun and entertaining?” — Claudia Puig, USA Today

“The symbiosis of good and evil is the film’s philosophical core, and images of duality and cloaked identity are strewn through it like shards from a fun house mirror.” — Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“I couldn’t believe when I was hearing and reading people who felt Heath Ledger only won an Academy Award for this film because he had passed away, which is a ridiculous and unfair assessment. The man won the award because he gave an iconic performance, every word, mannerism, expression, and lick of the lips was perfection. His version of the Joker is one of my favorite acting achievements ever, and it never gets old or lessens in importance.” — shanderson88, Letterboxd

“I’m not sure I have an all time favourite film but if I was pushed to pick one then Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind would be a strong candidate. It is such a wildly inventive and beautifully crafted film, both behind and in front of the camera, that it never fails to impress or surpise me, no matter how often I watch it” — Adam Cook, Letterboxd